Is it important for every small business to protect their Intellectual Property? Do you want your clients, business partners, investors or the market, in general, to perceive your company as an authority in the field you function in? Did you ever wonder how Intellectual Property can upscale your business revenue? This is what you need to read.
Most SME’s in India are not necessary aware of the importance of how to go about identifying, securing and leveraging their Intellectual Property Right and often fall prey to malpractices. This is because of the lack of IP awareness in the day to day business operations and to some extent lack of monitory resources. To fill this gap and as an IP initiative and awareness, Government of India has come up with the schemes such as “Scheme for Facilitating Startup Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP). Through this scheme, the Government of India offers services and financial support to startups to protect their inventions through patent protection such as faster patent verification, legal help, patent filing and trademark application funding, and discounts in patent fees via IP facilitation centers.
The Indian government has also set up the Federation of Indian Micro, Small and Micro Enterprises (FISME) that have set up facilitation centers in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad to build greater awareness of IP and its protection. Similarly, the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council conducts programs to increase the competitiveness of SME’s through IP awareness.
IP and Competitive Edge
Protecting your logo, design, unique products and taglines to stop your competitors from imitating anything specific to your brand, which gives you a competitive advantage over others. This advantage translates into an ability to gaining a market share, which in turn helps you maintain a market. This usually is the secret of a business’s success.
Importance of IP Protections (Trademark and Patent) and Monetization
Trademark: Improves the brand value:
Did you know that your trademark can be the most valuable asset of your organization than most of the physical assets you own? Therefore it is very essential for every business to secure their trademark at the very early stage.A trademark can be a name or a logo which represents your business. Securing a trademark gives you the advantage to stops others from using same or similar name such as yours. This results in exclusively promotion, advertise and establishing a brand in the long run.
Patent: Invent> Protect >Monetize.
Patent gives an exclusive right over the invention for 20 years. Generally, inventors/ patent holders/ business owners would like to keep the patent for their exclusive use but there is lot more they can do by licensing / Assigning their technology. Licensing assures a certain income in the form of a fee or royalty while keeping the ownership of your rights. Franchising is similar to licensing but gives the owner more control over the business. Or, a patent can be assigned to the big players at a significantly higher mutually agreed value.
Leverage IP to Raise Funds.
You can leverage an IP to gain capital and funds from potential investors as this proves to them that they would be investing in a credible business.Since the value of Intellectual Property increases indefinitely higher and higher, Venture Capitalistsare more likely to focus on the IP portfolio of the organization and if their IP fits right into the current market.It is generally considered that, the stronger the IP portfolio, the higher the chances of raising the funds.
Protect business growth:
As a business, it is especially important to protect your unique products or services that help grow your market share, resulting in slow growth or loss of revenue.Though applying for an IP may seem daunting and time-consuming at first, all you need to do is follow the instructions mentioned on the IP India website or can get in touch with the Attorneys who can get it filed on your behalf. It is worth the time and effort as not only will it protect your business but help it grow and expand too.
About Indus Pacific
Indus Pacific work with world’s leading organizations to provide comprehensive intellectual property services at an extremely competitive price. Our mission is to solve client’s most challenging and complex intellectual property problems, making their mission our mission. Contact us for all your intellectual property requirements.
